


this is not home.

by anclrewjosten (caslyc)



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, M/M, Spoilers, in which sammy stevens makes a decision to leave for king falls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 09:59:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18280826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caslyc/pseuds/anclrewjosten
Summary: California was not Sammy Steven's home. King Falls was not his home. He did not care. There was only one place he wanted to be. He simply did not realise his heart was lost with the faded footprints of his fiancé.





	this is not home.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a hell of a while and I've never written any of the king falls characters before so i hope this is alright! but shoutout to the king falls am discord for inspiring me - this has been a long time coming.

Sammy Stevens had never thought himself as a man who leant on others. He was loud, he was bold, and he held himself strong, unbothered by the fleeting appearances of new personalities in his life. Living in the busy streets - that was common, he had thought. People were fleeting within his business, so he didn't mind holding a sharp tongue to those around him.

At least, he didn't think he did. 

When he met Jack Wright, he didn't think anything had changed. He continued to give stick to the snarky voices on the other end of the telephone line, allowing the constant calls to simply boost his ego, and when he and Jack decided to leave Lily Wright behind... Well, he didn't mind that either. He thought she was a lifelong friend, and lifelong friends don't cut you out of their lives when you left them without a job, because, well, it was the business. Then she stopped talking to him, but it was okay, because he had his career. Any spare time Sammy Stevens found to think about it was distracted by work, sleep, or Jack. 

Discovering Jack made it right. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle; they moved as if connected, forever filling the empty spaces between each other. They were an effortless machine. Then they became engaged, and it made it all worthwhile. Not telling people didn't even bother Sammy because he was happy, and happiness was something he had never considered beyond college. He dove head first into life, and that was that. It was easy, because he didn't have to think about what he did with Jack either: he just knew. Now he truly had become a radio star: Jack and his job were his everything, but he didn't think he'd care if Jack went back to Lily, leaving him behind with what he had.

At least, he didn't think he cared.

Then he really did lose Jack Wright, and it tore his heart apart. The simple memory of the open car door left his breathing staggered. He could still feel the way his heart stopped, how time stopped, when he realised something was wrong, but he moved on, reminding himself that Jack Wright was just a man, and he was only here for his job. It didn't matter that Lily was looking for comfort from Sammy, putting aside all the grudges she held against him. It didn't matter that Jack was his reason for everything on a day to day basis, because managing his radio show on his own kept him busy enough to forget. There was nothing he did better than forgetting- or ignoring. 

Eventually the nights lengthened, and even though it was the peak of summer, Sammy wouldn't leave his bed. He couldn't. He remembered listening to his own radio show, timetabled for the same time as every night, whilst he sat curled on an uncovered mattress, thin, worse-for-wear blankets covering his bare self. Hearing the broadcasted static where his own voice should be - he was giving up the only thing he cared about, because he didn't really care. Not anymore. His sharp wit and sarcastic comments weren't any special talent if he wasn't entertaining the tall, smiling producer sat across the table from him, shoulders shaking from laughter as his smile lit up his eyes. This was no longer the business he cared for anymore, he had decided.

He remembered sitting there, listening to four and a half hours of static before the stream was cut. The silence cut through the room. He wasn't thinking anymore - it was a newfound autopilot - as he pulled his unkept, growing hair into a bun atop his head, pulled his laptop towards him and waited as the charger bled life into it. Typing in King Falls into the search engine, he began his own notebook, whilst keeping Jack's own undoing close beside him. 

As he travelled, Sammy let his mind drift. He wasn't calculating - not right now - but he was learning. He let his eyes follow the curve of the mountain road, get lost in the dark, unorganised woods that lined every inch of landscape surrounding his horizons. It was reconnaissance: if his first day in town wasn't also his first day on his new job, he'd pull over and trek into the woods. He so desperately wanted to walk in and find Jack sauntering towards him, a smile on his face, pulling him in for a hug as if nothing was wrong. God, how infuriating Jack would be, but how perfect would it be having his skinny frame in his arms again, Jack's head pulled against his chest and his chin resting atop his dark curls. Fiancé was a word that made Sammy's heart pull, just now for different reasons than what it use to. It was breaking him, slowly pulling away at all the fight he was looking to find as he drove towards (god, he hoped it was towards) his fiancé.

Sammy Stevens did not think he cared, but by the pain he held in his chest and the distance behind his eyes that threatened to spill tears, he realised he cared so much more than he could ever believe he could. If he couldn't find Jack, he was going to do his damn hardest to make sure he would be exactly who Jack would want him to be, and as he sat down two hours and one police escort later at his new radio desk, he couldn't help but miss Jack as he thought of all the words he would not say to new voices on the lines, because he really, really did he think he would mind. 

Sammy Stevens took a moment for a shaky break and one last thought before leaning forward to the microphone. 

"Good evening, I'm Sammy Stevens and you're listening to King Falls AM. That's 660 on the radio dial. It's my first show- Hell it's my first day..."

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: this week I have gone and made a podcast server, to talk about any podcast, make friends, share theories / art, and i'm hoping to keep it ever growing so if everyones interested! https://discord.gg/ZXveaNg


End file.
